Notes from another Buffalo bashing [2:02 PM]Olean Times Herald reports:
'A bizarre scene occurred in the second half when, while pass blocking, Bills' rookie offensive tackle Jonas Jennings got his facemask caught in that of Pats' defensive end Anthony Pleasant. An official had to separate them.'

Brady gets by against Bills [2:01 PM]Metro West Daily News reports:
'Tom Brady created a negative hubbub when he got picked off four times in the fourth quarter of the Denver game. But yesterday's effort against the Bills made the Denver edition look like Johnny Unitas.'

Johnson stumbles [2:00 PM]Metro West Daily News reports:
'Look, these Bills stink. They're either too young, too old or list hospital bed as place of residence. They're also unlucky and a bit stupid. Yesterday they had nine penalties, none more egregious than when they had third down on the Patriots' 1-yard line, trailing just 7-0. A false start cost the Bills 5 yards, they took the obligatory three points but never recovered until Van Pelt gave them a (too) late quick fix. This was the first time Johnson had played at Foxboro Stadium. But it had a familiar look of other stadiums on other Sundays for the ill-starred QB. Another loss, another injury. Pretty much business as usual.'

Patriots cover but not much else [1:58 PM]Metro West Daily News reports:
'But basically it was three hours of heavy, well-paid guys in tight pants running into each other very fast while guys in striped shirts threw yellow hankies at them and the wind blew hard. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. For season ticket holders, this was the perfect occasion to give your seats to that nuisance neighbor down the street.'

It wasn't a pretty game, but the result was [1:57 PM]Quincy Patriot Ledger reports:
'The Pats, after all, missed two field goals, committed seven penalties (five of which handed the Bills first downs), turned the ball over three times and allowed seven sacks. Yep. Just the way they drew it up in practice last week.'

Pats climb above .500 and set sights on playoffs [1:56 PM]Qunicy Patriot Ledger reports:
'"They had nothing to lose at 1-6, so they threw the kitchen sink at us," said Patriots veteran inside linebacker Ted Johnson. "It was fun because we made the big plays in the game when we had to."'

Smith and Patriots run down the Bills [1:55 PM]Quincy Patriot Ledger reports:
'Smith still has a number of friends on the Bills, and he wanted to show the Buffalo media and fans that he wasn't a bust, as many of them had said. That was motivation enough for Smith, but he acted all week as if he were going to face his old coaches. His teammates knew he was acting differently. The usually quiet Smith was gabbing continually.'

Broken clavicle to sideline Bills Johnson [1:54 PM]ESPN reports:
'Bills quarterback Rob Johnson will miss a minimum of four weeks after suffering a broken right clavicle in the fourth quarter of a 21-11 loss to the Patriots on Sunday, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported. Johnson suffered the injury when he was sacked by Terrell Buckley with 4:17 left in the game.'

Baffled Bills bounced by blitz [1:54 PM]Niagara Falls Reporter reports:
'Buffalo's offensive disarray was largely responsible for the Patriots' 21-11 win. A false start by Jonas Jennings killed one should-have-been touchdown. Jay Riemersma's holding infraction not only erased another, but made necessary the play on which Rob Johnson's season very possibly ended. Penalties were only part of Buffalo's miseries. Just getting out of the huddle was more than the Bills could handle at times, leading to two wasted second-half timeouts. Those would have been pretty handy at the end, after Buffalo cut New England's lead to three points and desperately needed to stop the clock.'

RJ broke collarbone [11:06 AM]WIVB reports:
'The Bills lost 21-11 to New England Sunday, and lost Rob Johnson indefinitely. Johnson broke his collarbone after being sacked Terrell Buckley late in the fourth quarter. It was his 5th sack of the game. The Bills defense sacked Tom Brady seven times, and held him to just 107 yards passing with one interception by Antoine Winfield.'

Buffalo's lost season gets even bleaker [9:11 AM]Niagara Falls Reporter reports:
The sun shone brightly over Foxboro Stadium for most of New England's 21-11 win over Buffalo on Sunday. At least above the Patriots' sideline. "When it rains, it rains hard," said Bills running back Travis Henry."And it's raining right now for us." The Bills outgained the Patriots, but fatal penalties kept them out of the end zone until 2:43 remained and they trailed by 11 points. Buffalo held New England to 205 net yards, but gave the Patriots less than half a field to cover on both of their touchdown drives (one of which was sustained by a pair of defensive pass interference penalties). Rookie punter Brian Moorman, whose kicking was one of the scarce bright spots through the first seven games, couldn't handle the southern Massachussetts wind as the Bills brace for the gusty portion of their home schedule.'

D-line in a rush to get better [9:09 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'The Bills had a season-high seven sacks to contribute to a good defensive effort in a 21-11 loss to the New England Patriots. It was the Bills' highest total since getting seven against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 12th game of last season, and also the highest total allowed by the Patriots since the Colts recorded eight sacks Dec. 6, 1992. The Bills have been turning up the heat on opposing quarterbacks in recent weeks. After recording just four sacks in the first four games, the Bills' defense has produced 17 in the last four contests.'

Bills were really . . . wait a minute, I'll get to it [9:08 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'The crowning insult came on the first play after Johnson's injury in the fourth quarter. They had, oh, half an hour to settle on a play while Johnson was being carted off. So what happens? Alex Van Pelt goes up to the line, gets a dazed look on his face and calls time.'

Ostroski manages to hang tough [9:07 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'This was a game where Johnson may have been responsible for more of the sacks than the line.'

Monday Billboard [9:06 AM]Buffalo News reports:
'The Bills have now been outscored, 59-16, in first period of games this season. The have one offensive touchdown, a Johnson-to-Moulds pass in the Jets game. The Bills missed the point after. Their only other TD was an interception return by Nate Clements in the first Indianapolis game.'

Patriots not sharp, but knock off Bills [8:48 AM]Worcester Telegram and Gazette reports:
'So, it's come to this: Patriots fans leaving Foxboro Stadium yesterday after New England's 21-11 triumph over Buffalo were overheard complaining about how ugly a win it was. Ah, remember the good old days? Remember when Pats fans were happy with a win, no matter its beauty? Hard to believe it's been, what, two months?'

Smith runs for 2 scores against his former team [8:46 AM]Worcester Telegram and Gazette reports:
'"He was very excited," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "You could tell this morning when he walked in. It was good to hear some words out of his mouth. He really wanted to make an impression."'

He broke his silence - and some tackles, too [8:44 AM]Portland Press Herald reports:
'The Patriots beat the Bills 21-11, and it was a messy, ugly game that has become typical when these division rivals meet. Tom Brady was sacked seven times, fumbled twice and was intercepted once. The young quarterback, who appeared so poised before the team left for three games on the road, now looked like a young quarterback playing in only his seventh game in the NFL. Which, of course, is exactly what Tom Brady is.'

Antowain Smith Post-Game Press Conference [6:47 AM]Patriots.com reports:
'Q: What did your former teammates say to you after the game? AS: They wished me luck. 'Good game, stay healthy,' and they'll see me when we come to Buffalo. Q: It was all vanilla? AS: Yeah, because I had a good relationship with the players on the team. We always bonded. So they wished me well and I wished them well and stay healthy for the rest of the season and I'll see them in Buffalo.'

Patriots turn back Bills [6:44 AM]Springfield Union News reports:
'In fact, if one looks closely, the Bills look very much like the Patriots - last season's Patriots, that is.'

Buffalo sees Smith succeed [6:43 AM]Springfield Union News reports:
'"I feel good," said Smith, who played four seasons with Buffalo before signing with New England in the off-season. "We got the win, that's the main thing. It also helped that I had a pretty good performance out there."'

Buffalo is better than 1-7 [6:42 AM]Springfield Union News reports:
'They aren't the Marv Levy-Jim Kelly Buffalo Bills. They aren't even the Wade Phillips-Doug Flutie Buffalo Bills. Even so, the team that squared off against the New England Patriots yesterday at Foxboro Stadium proved just as blue-collar tough as those more successful Buffalo teams of recent times.'

One more way to lose [5:53 AM]D and C reports:
'Should have, could have, would have. That has been the ongoing story of this dreadful season for the Bills.'

Was Pats' game Rob's last stand? [5:52 AM]D and C reports:
'If Rob Johnson's right clavicle is indeed broken, he will not be playing football for the Buffalo Bills the rest of the season. Now the question is, will he ever play for the Bills again? If it were my call, the answer would be no.'

Ouch! Those growing pains hurt [5:51 AM]D and C reports:
'"The defense played well enough to keep us in this ballgame, but we need to play better as a TEAM," coach Gregg Williams said. "We find new ways each week to (lose)."'

Buffalo Bills report card [5:50 AM]D and C reports:
'Another uninspiring effort by Rob Johnson, who converted just 2 of 12 third downs against Bill Belichick's defense and was sacked five times (most his fault). Left the game with a serious shoulder injury with 4:17 left so you win the office pool if you picked eight starts as the number of games he would last. D+'

Positive Charge [5:50 AM]Boston Globe reports:
'''We got lucky today,'' said Patriots receiver Troy Brown. ''That's a pretty good football team.'' Brown's comments may be a stretch, because the Bills are far from good. And the Patriots weren't ''lucky'' all the time, at times they were good.''